Port Harcourt Artists should put their songs out and stop waiting for their songs to blow - South South Media Week 2018 #ssmw2018

The South South Media Week 2018 which is holding in Port Harcourt has been very interesting so far. The music conference held on the Thursday 27th September at The Vineyard in Port Harcourt. The theme for the music conference was: "Developing an increase in local talent and education while creating a love for music, culture, creativity and authenticity."

The music conference was moderated by Timeyin, while the speakers at the event were: Olumati Isaiah, M Trill, Ebika, Spirionto (Ochuko Omiragwa).

Olumati was the first speaker to speak, was to speak on the future of music rights and music promotion. "He said a lot of people understand the basic music rights, so we need to look at the existing music rights. He explained the basics of a Cover Song which are not meant to be sold because they belong to an artist. Meanwhile if a Cover Song wants to be sold, an agreement will need to be made with the main artist, which will lead to a one time payment or royalties."

He continued by talking about songwriting rights which are divided into two segments which are one off payment and mechanical licence. For one off payment the song writer's name will not be published, while for mechanical royalties, an agreement will be made to benefit from sales and live performances of the song, which is not actually practiced in Nigeria, as a result of one off payment and issues with COSON (Copyright Society of Nigeria).

M Trill spoke about THE ARTIST AND THE BRAND. He encouraged artists to grow their social media accounts and improve on their engagements. He advised artists to do what will make record labels see them instead of looking for them. M Trill also suggested that they pick a side hustle which may include selling merchandise which should be products that their audience can relate to.

Ebika stated that on urban radio, a song has a life span of 6 weeks, encouraging artists to monetize their songs on streaming platforms and develop catalogs. In went further saying that Port Harcourt has exposure and consumption of artists songs and that artists should put their songs out there, and should stop waiting for the songs to blow.He also encouraged artists to bond with OAPs.

Spironto (Ochuko) spoke on Artist and Leadership. He stated that a leader stands in front to take responsibility. Talking to the artists he said "You can be a major influence in the industry and a leader just like Davido, so pick yourself as a leader."

Legendary Suni a musician who was in the audience also made his contribution and talked about how he performed at a child dedication of an OAP which opened doors for him. He went on to encourage artists to relate well with OAPs.